Pre­served lemons a handy kitchen stand-by

Pre­served lemons keep for months and you can re­use the salty liq­uid to make more. In­gre­di­ents Lemons Cin­na­mon quills Bay leaves Cloves Olive oil Salt, pure cook­ing salt Method Wash and dry some even-shaped lemons. Cut stem end off each lemon then slice length­wise into quar­ters. Add about 1 cm of salt to a large clean jar with plas­tic lid. Pack lemons in, layering with more salt. Add cin­na­mon quills or cas­sia bark, bay leaves and/or cloves to the jar as you go. Fill the jar with fresh lemon juice. Leave at room tem­per­a­ture for at least a month, turn­ing to dis­solve the salt. Cover the sur­face with olive oil to seal. To use, dis­card the pulp, rinse the rind, and then slice finely. One quar­ter is usu­ally enough to give an in­tense lemony flavour. Use in Moroc­can cook­ing es­pe­cially in chicken, lamb and veg­etable tagines, with cous­cous and in sal­ads.